Nearly three quarters of businesses are optimised for mobile commerce according to Sage Pay e-Business Benchmark Report

Almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of businesses are now optimised for mobile commerce with 18 per cent spending in excess of £1000 on the transition into mobile, according to a survey by the UK’s leading payment processor Sage Pay.

Businesses are getting more prepared for m-commerce

The survey of more than 1500 online businesses in the UK shows a steady rise in the past 12 months with more businesses championing mobile apps and optimisation.

Large e-businesses were found to be rapidly adapting to the rise in mobile, with 22 per cent building mobile apps in the last year and 73 per cent choosing to optimise their sites for mobile commerce. Of those surveyed a quarter of app-enabled businesses are now seeing between 10-19 per cent of all sales coming via mobile devices, over half (56 per cent) of the respondents boasting apps said they were generating up to 10 per cent transactions through the add on.

Sage Pay CEO Simon Black, said the findings show how the “pressure to stay at the cutting edge is driving UK e-commerce to new levels of sophistication”.

Black added: “The results of the report prove that taking advantage of the mobile opportunity is critical to stimulating economic growth in the UK. With almost half of the businesses surveyed planning to introduce mobile apps in the coming months, Britain is poise for a bright future at the leading edge of mobile innovation.”

In terms of social, Facebook continues to play a role in the evaluation of online commerce activities, although to a lesser extent than mobile. Of the respondents 15 per cent have a Facebook store with embedded payment pages, with only 36 per cent planning to set one up this year. Of the 24 per cent that don’t have Facebook, the main reason was lack of relevance to the business or perceived ability to generate sales.